Thanks to everyone who contributed to our project. Our campaign in Indiegogo is closed, but you can still support us at https://give.berkeley.edu/browse/?u=39

"I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things." Emma Goldman, Living My Life 

We need your help to publish the last volume of our long running book series, "Emma Goldman: The American Years," and to continue to provide valuable research opportunities for students and the public. 

The Emma Goldman Papers is part of a national initiative to retrieve the papers of individuals whose life work has had a lasting impact on the course of American history. Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was a tireless advocate of free expression and social justice. Her papers are a treasure trove of women’s, immigration, ethnic, transnational, political, cultural, sexual, and civil liberties histories.  In keeping with her spirit, the Emma Goldman Papers Project’s focus is, and always has been, on public education through open access to original sources. 

Since 1980, the Project has located, copied, identified, organized, and published over 22,000 documents previously unavailable or little known, not only about Emma Goldman but also focused on the political and cultural milieu surrounding her life and work. Currently, we are composing the last volume of our four-part documentary history series, Emma Goldman: A Documentary History of The American Years (1890-1919). The last volume, covering the years of 1917-1919, resonates strongly with concerns about immigration and deportation law, surveillance, limitations on free speech in times of national crisis, prison conditions, and the fragility of citizenship for those who were not born in the U.S. 

As Dr. Candace Falk acknowledges, "collaboration is the core component of the Emma Goldman Papers Project. For over thirty years, many hands have created what has become a secular cathedral to the remembrance of things past and almost forgotten. Every effort, large and small, built the structure, added complexity and nuance to the work, and confirmed the importance of situating advocates of free expression into the historical record as a lasting tribute to courageous spirits." The project provides students the rare opportunity to engage in political theory, critical writing skills, and historical research with authentic primary documents. We believe these resources have not only launched many students, volunteers, and community members into careers of activism, education, and writing, but also enriched their personal lives. 

Though the Emma Goldman Papers is a teaching, research and education unit, an archive, and a solid public history and campus outreach group, inconsistent funding has been a source of anxiety for many years. Additionally, due to financial difficulties within the University of California system, we remain part of the university but without direct funding for the editorial staff and day-to-day expenses of the project—this is an incredible burden most comparable projects do not have to assume. The controversy surrounding Goldman--as a woman deported from America, who challenged involuntary conscription, misuse of government power, sexual mores, and actively promoted unlimited free expression--sometimes adds a political edge to our capacity to maintain steady funding. With the loss of direct university funding, our staff, offices, and resources have shrunk. The Emma Goldman Papers' tiny office now seems a bit like a dazzling vest pocket park. 

This year has been especially difficult for our project. The loss of longtime and important staff, in addition to severe financial constraints, impeded the project's ability to finish our fourth and last volume. Your generous contribution would make an immense difference, not only in furthering our goal to make public thousands of historical documents, but also our campaigns to teach and the publication of our last book. Anything you contribute would go towards digitizing our archives for the public, in the spirit of Emma Goldman's "sweet comradery," and publishing our last documentary volume, which covers the war years 1917-1919. 

Your contribution will be put to use immediately. Anything you contribute would go towards digitizing the tens of thousands of documents in our archive for the public, as well as covering the cost of publishing our last documentary volume. We, as students, authors, volunteers, and teachers, remain committed to Emma's vision of creating a community of peers across borders. Our hope is to make the countless letters, periodicals, newspapers, teaching resources, and rare photographs, available to the public free of charge through digitization. Moreover, we will use your funds to ensure the Emma Goldman Papers Project remain a valuable teaching resource, both for those interested in pursuing similar work as well as those who wish to learn research, writing, and archival skills necessary for other fields. 

June 27 is Emma Goldman's birthday—please consider sending a birthday donation in her memory! 

Emma Goldman speaking from an open car to a crowd of garment workers at Union Square, New York, on May 20, 1916.